Cheapest Cities to Rent in Texas

Texas is home to some of the cheapest rental markets of any major Sun Belt state, but the range is wide and the cheap cities are not all equal. The difference between Killeen at $1,233 median and Frisco at $1,772 is real, but so is the difference between a market where local wages support those rents and one where they don't. All figures from RentDataNow, June 2026.

The Cheapest Major Cities in Texas

Killeen is the cheapest major city in Texas at $1,233 median, one-bedrooms $928, two-bedrooms $1,168, three-bedrooms $1,628. Rents fell 4.0% year over year. Killeen is a military city anchored by Fort Cavazos, one of the largest Army installations in the world. The rental market is shaped by military families and their housing allowances, which creates a stable demand floor but also a ceiling on appreciation. The 24% rent-to-income ratio against a $60,977 median income is sound. For renters who are stationed or employed at Fort Cavazos or in military-adjacent industries, Killeen's prices are among the lowest in the state for a city its size.

Wichita Falls is $1,272 median, one-bedrooms $902, the second-lowest one-bedroom average in this dataset, up 7.6% year over year. The 25% ratio against $60,177 income is manageable. Wichita Falls is a mid-size city in north Texas near the Oklahoma border with Sheppard Air Force Base as its primary economic anchor. The 7.6% growth is worth noting for anyone planning to sign a long-term lease.

Amarillo sits at $1,287 median, one-bedrooms $1,007, up 6.9%, with a strong 23% ratio against a $65,912 income. Amarillo's economy runs on agriculture, energy, and transportation along the I-40 corridor. The city has been steadily improving its downtown and has enough going on for renters who don't need urban density. The 6.9% growth is the honest caveat, but from a low enough base that even sustained growth keeps it affordable for several more years.

The Value Cities: San Antonio, Mesquite, Corpus Christi

San Antonio at $1,365 median, one-bedrooms $1,266, rents down 1.2%. The 25% ratio against a $65,056 income is solid. San Antonio is the best combination of price, lifestyle, culture, and job market depth of any city in the cheap-to-mid range in Texas. The River Walk, Hill Country access, excellent Tex-Mex food, and a military and healthcare employment base that provides stable mid-career hiring. For renters who want a real major city at below-average Texas prices, San Antonio is the answer.

Mesquite at $1,374 median, one-bedrooms $1,087, down 2.9%, with a 23% ratio against $72,537. Mesquite is a Dallas suburb with direct access to the city via I-30 and LBJ Freeway. The rent decline makes it one of the more negotiable markets in the DFW area right now. For renters who need Dallas access on a tight budget it's the most affordable suburb with direct highway connectivity.

Corpus Christi at $1,400 median, one-bedrooms $1,153, down 2.4%, 25% ratio against $67,394. Gulf Coast access, petrochemical and naval employment, and rents that are falling. One-bedrooms in a coastal city at $1,153 is a combination that doesn't exist anywhere else in the Sun Belt.

The Efficient Suburbs: Carrollton, Lewisville, Richardson, Round Rock

Several DFW and Austin suburbs deliver low rent-to-income ratios because strong incomes offset above-average rents.

Carrollton at $1,536 median, one-bedrooms $1,215, down 1.3%, has the best ratio in the DFW affordable tier at 18% against $101,396 income. Richardson at $1,671, one-bedrooms $1,323, down 1.4%, 20% ratio against $98,111. Both are tech corridor suburbs with real income floors that make higher absolute rents more manageable. Round Rock at $1,621, one-bedrooms $1,289, down 0.5%, 20% ratio against $99,287. Round Rock is the most affordable Austin-metro suburb with direct Dell Technologies and major tech employer access.

The Red Flags

Abilene's rents grew 30.8% year over year to $1,751 median. That's the steepest increase of any Texas city in this dataset by a wide margin. One-bedrooms sit at $926, which looks cheap, but a 30.8% annual growth rate means $926 becomes $1,211 in one year at that pace. The 34% ratio against $62,648 income is already elevated. Anyone considering Abilene should negotiate a fixed multi-year lease immediately.

Brownsville's one-bedroom average is $800, the cheapest in Texas, but the 38% ratio against a $52,130 income and 8.3% year-over-year growth make it structurally unaffordable for local earners despite the low headline number. College Station at $1,596 median carries a 38% ratio driven down by Texas A&M's student population depressing the income median, the same university-town distortion visible in Gainesville, Florida and Cleveland, Ohio.

How Texas Compares

Texas has no state income tax, which means a dollar of gross income goes further than in states like California or New York. A 25% rent-to-income ratio in San Antonio on a $65,000 Texas salary leaves more take-home than a 25% ratio on a $65,000 California salary after state income tax. That structural advantage compounds across every city on this list and is worth factoring into any out-of-state comparison.

The full rent and income breakdown for every Texas city is on RentDataNow. Use the compare tool to run any two Texas cities side by side, or the affordability calculator to see what the 30% ceiling looks like on your specific salary in any Texas market.